Pros And Cons Of Wrongful Convictions
The five factors associated with wrongful convictions are as follows, adversarial process, eyewitness identification, forensic evidence misconduct/ error, interrogation and confessions, and informants/ jailhouse snitches. The adversarial process relies on the skills and resources of the defense and prosecution. Eyewitness identification includes evidence from a witness who has seen the event and can pick out a perpetrator. Forensic evidence misconduct/ error involves forensic evidence that has been collected poorly or handled wrong down the line and tampered. Interrogation and confessions have exonerated about 20% of the wrongful convictions cases, but with this can lead to false confessions. Lastly, informants/ jailhouse snitches about 15% of DNA exonerated cases have involved this …show more content…
These points can effect the counsel and lead to wrongful convictions. Yaroshefsky discussed the Strickland standard which involves the sixth amendment right to counsel but is violated by the inadequate performance of the counsel. Not only should the council received a fair trial but they also need it to be adequate. The example used in the article for bad lawyering was the Earl Washington Jr. trial. Cases involving the death penalty take months of preparation, with many witnesses and experts to testify. The case of Washington only lasted five hours and included two defense witnesses. Washington’s inadequate performance of his counsel led to him being put to death. With a better counsel he would have most likely had a different outcome, and not have been charged. The type of representation given can affect the case and cause wrongful convictions. Eyewitness misidentification causes about 70% of wrongful convictions. In Memon’s article about cognitive interviews being superior over regular interviewing, because it offers more accurate details, and allows the witness to recall more information.
Wrongful Conviction Examples
1168 Words | 5 PagesWrongful Convictions: Exonerated by DNA Since 1992, 333 people in the United States have been wrongfully convicted and exonerated by DNA testing. Of these 333 people, 20 served time under death row. (Inn Proj) Because of this, faith in the criminal justice system is at times questioned. 1.
Wade V. Conviction Case Study
865 Words | 4 PagesThe Court noted that future regulation of pretrial stages with the adoption of police codes and other safeguards of fairness might render a stage not critical and vitiate the constitutional need for counsel. Regarding the case at hand, the Court held that violation of the counsel requirement did not necessitate reversal of the conviction. The conviction could be upheld if the prosecution could show by clear and convincing evidence that the in court identification of Wade as the robber was based on the witnesses ' observations of him during the crime. The Court vacated the decision of the Fifth Circuit and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.
Wrongful Convictions Book Report
926 Words | 4 PagesManufacturing Guilt Wrongful Convictions in Canada, follows the theme of the first edition where the authors demonstrate what leads to wrongful conviction. We all know that innocent mistakes happen however, wrongful convictions are usually the result of deliberate actions of those working in the criminal justice system and not unintended errors. By using Canadian cases as miscarriages of justice, the authors argues that understanding wrongful convictions and how to prevent them is incomplete outside the broader societal context in which they occur, particularly regarding racial and social inequality. This book also analyzes how forensic science is used as a resource for prosecutors rather than seeking the truth. What is miscarriage of justice?
Summary Of Picking Cotton
1188 Words | 5 PagesIn the book “Picking Cotton”, the former Burlington Police Chief Mike Gauldin, who was the lead detective on Jennifer’s case, was certainly sure that Ronald Cotton was the guy he was looking for after Jennifer picked him twice (Jennifer, Ronald, Erin 80); also, on the McCallum’s case, the polices also chose to trust eyewitnesses when they did not have enough physical evidences. Furthermore, judges can be wrong sometime. Wise and Safer, who are authors of the report “ what US judges know and believe about eyewitness testimony”, surveyed 160 U.S. judges to determine how much they know about eyewitness testimony on a small test( Wise, Safer, 427-432). However, the survey responds the average judges in the U.S. only 55% correct within 14 questions (Wise, Safer, 431-432). Moreover, most of the judges who were surveyed did not know key facts about eyewitness testimony.
Why Is Lamar Johnson A Wrongful Conviction
1118 Words | 5 PagesThe case highlights the problems associated with flawed eyewitness identification, prosecutorial misconduct, and inadequate legal representation. By addressing these issues through comprehensive reforms, such as improving eyewitness identification procedures, increasing accountability for prosecutors, and providing adequate resources for public defenders, we can work towards a more just and equitable system. The case of Lamar Johnson not only underscores the importance of rectifying individual wrongful convictions but also emphasizes the broader implications for our society and the urgent need for criminal justice
What Is Tom Robinson Biased Jury
612 Words | 3 PagesThere will always be a biased jury, or inconclusive evidence to support that a crime, like that of Tom Robinson’s, to kill a human being. We will be taking an in depth look at the faults of this
Twelve Angry Men And The Court System
1057 Words | 5 Pages“One man is dead the life of another is at stake… I urge you to deliberate honestly and thoughtfully” (Rose 312). These words are from the judge at the beginning of the play twelve angry men. However this story is a great example of the many problems with the court system. The problems include: Jurors not being able to ask questions in court, people are appointed unqualified lawyers if they don’t have money to pick one themselves, giving them a less fair trial, also the accused are tried by peers who are biased and just don’t care about the trial. The first major problem of the court system is that Jurors cannot talk or ask questions in court.
Prosecutorial Misconduct
1087 Words | 5 PagesToday in the United States of America many individuals have been falsely convicted of charges with the prosecutors performing prosecutorial misconduct. Many individual lives have been ceased due to the long sentencings of being falsely accused of convictions. The chief officials over these cases should have rules and regulations as to how prosecutorial cases are dealt with, set a standards to show the misconduct and to relief the defendant, and to emphasize on ways to prevent future incidents of prosecutorial misconduct. The first step of dealing with prosecutorial misconduct is the fact that “each state bar has a mechanism in place for the discipline of misconduct by attorneys licensed in that state. Separately, federal courts may discipline
Jury Decisions
571 Words | 3 PagesThis remarkable courthouse only hosted approximately seven trials in its first year and since then has dropped even lower (Dzur, 2013). The early 20th century was the last time a jury was considered the normal process for dealing with criminal cases, and now the plea deal is king (Dzur, 2013). Simple fact is, today juries hear only a very few cases across the nation (Dzur, 2013). High-ranking members working in the justice system fear that the competence of a jury today is declining with the scientific evidence that is now available (Dzur, 2013). The statistics seem to support this fear.
The Case Of State Of Georgia V. Marcus Dixon
954 Words | 4 PagesIt can be argued that the jury was not a proper representation of his peers. Along with other factual errors surrounding Dixon’s false conviction,
Convicting The Innocent Summary
955 Words | 4 PagesConvicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong In Brandon L. Garrett 's book, Convicting the Innocent: Where Criminal Prosecutions Go Wrong, he makes it very clear how wrongful convictions occur and how these people have spent many years in prison for crimes they never committed. Garrett presents 250 cases of innocent people who were convicted wrongfully because the prosecutors opposed testing the DNA of those convicted. Garrett provided simple statistics such as graphs, percentages, and charts to help the reader understand just how great of an impact this was.
Truman Capote's Last Ditch Effort To Help Perry In In Cold Blood
527 Words | 3 PagesDuring the trial, the doctor who analyzed Perry’s sanity, Dr. Jones, testified his opinion: “‘From your conversations and examination of Perry Edward Smith, do you have an opinion as to whether he knew right from wrong at the time of the offense involved in this action?’... Answer yes or no, do you have an opinion?’ ‘No’” (Capote 296). He then follows this up with a lengthy and detailed description of how the Doctor would have defended his response had he been allowed by the prosecution to elaborate.
The Pros And Cons Of Wrongful Conviction
949 Words | 4 PagesWith millions of criminal convictions a year, more than two million people may end up behind bars(Gross). According to Samuel Gross reporter for The Washington Post, writes that also “even one percent amounts to tens of thousands of tragic [wrongful conviction] errors”(Gross). Citizens who are wrongfully convicted are incarcerated for a crime he or she did not commit. Many police officers, prosecutors, and judges are responsible for the verdict that puts innocents into prison. To be able to get exonerated many wait over a decade just to get there case looked at, not many are able to have the opportunity of getting out.
Wrongful Convictions In Criminal Justice
539 Words | 3 PagesLuckily, it is known what causes wrongful convictions and how to fix them. Many wrongful convictions are due to mistaken eyewitnesses, jailhouse snitches, or false evidence. I think many of the wrongful convictions could be solved with harder evidence, more information. A case should not rely on a single eye witness but multiple.
Pros And Cons Of Retributive Justice
1479 Words | 6 PagesToday our justice system has a multitude of options when dealing with those who are convicted of offenses. However, many argue that retributive justice is the only real justice there is. This is mainly because its advantage is that it gives criminals the appropriate punishment that they deserve. The goals of this approach are clear and direct. In his book The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Zehr Howard (2002), illustrates that the central focus of retributive justice is offenders getting what they deserve (p. 30).
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